Bat Lagoon!
by shanejayell
Summary: The deadly twins Hansel and Gretel have come to Gotham. How much blood will be spilled before they stop killing?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from either Black Lagoon or Batman, I'm only borrowing them for awhile. I am mostly ignoring canon for both series, so I can use the characters I want. If you wanna complain, go ahead.

A big thanks goes out to Espanolbot off Scans Daily, who's Casstoons strips inspired a certain scene.

Batman and Black Lagoon

The two children watched their new master thoughtfully. He had bought them from the Italian mob, arranging them to be removed from what was becoming a difficult situation. He wasn't pretty, but that didn't bother either child. They had learned very young that 'pretty' didn't matter, all it was was something to mask the evil within.

The scarred man took a coin out from his pocket, the Gotham warehouse quiet as he prepared to flip it. He did so, the silver coin flashing as it rose, then he caught it and slapped it down on his black suit's sleeve.

"Is it time, big sister?" Hansel asked, watching as Two Face checked the coin.

"He has his rituals, just like we do little brother," Gretel answered, "be patient."

"Scar face up," Two Face noted calmly. He put the coin in his pocket, his expression oddly serene as he asked, "You two ready?"

"Of course," Gretel smiled as she hefted her massive military rifle.

Hansel checked the wicked ax he carried as he asked, "What's the target, sir?"

"The crime families of Gotham," Two Face said as he adjusted his suit, split down the middle between black and gray, "and we'll start with my old friends the Falcone's."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Bruce Wayne was working late, looking out over Gotham from Wayne Tower. He projected the image of a foppish millionaire, but in reality he carefully watched over his fortune and the company he inherited, using them for the greater good of Gotham.

The ringing of his private line made Bruce raise his eyebrow slightly. There were very few people with that number, and they wouldn't be calling this late unless it was a emergency. He picked it up as he said, "Hello?"

"Hello Mr. Wayne," the voice said in perfect Russian, "it's been a long time."

"Balalaika," Bruce growled out softly. "How did you get this number?"

"We both know I have connections, Bruce," Balalaika answered smoothly. "I have information you need, I think, in repayment for the debt I owe you."

Bruce closed his eyes, remembering the training journey he had set out on in his late teens. Tibet, the mid-east, and other places, including the lawless city of Roanapur. He had found himself caught up in a brutal gang war, and had fought to survive beside a beautiful ex-Russian military officer.

"You don't owe me for that," Bruce said quietly.

"Possibly," Balalaika answered, her voice warm, "or maybe I'm doing this for the fond memories we share." Briskly she continued, "I have received word that two very dangerous killers have come to your city. They are twins, children, and are called Hansel and Gretel."

"Twins," Bruce repeated, instantly knowing who had brought them to the city. 'Oh, Harvey,' he mentally sighed, thinking of his old friend sadly.

"They were spirited out of Roanapur before certain... factions could get a hold of them," Balalaika added, "I fear at least some of those factions will chase them to your city."

"I see," Bruce answered, "thank you."

"I look forward to seeing you again," Balalaika said just as she hung up on him.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The gangs in Gotham never really recovered from the arrival of men like the Joker, Penguin, and of course Two Face himself. But even in decline the gangs were a power, handling drug dealing, prostitution and crime that the costumes just didn't touch.

Dominic Falcone was a handsome man, by most standards. He dressed well, he had a nice face, and his hair was always nicely styled. You had to get closer to see the utter inhumanity in his eyes, and few lived to learn about his people smuggling ring.

"Get the truck unloaded," Dominic ordered his men as they unloaded the bundles of drugs from the shipping truck. 'FetEx,' he thought to himself wryly, 'when you absolutely, positively have to get it there on time.'

It took only a few minutes to shatter his contentment. A worker from the front end of the old factory they were shipping out of ran towards him, yelling, "Boss, there's someone busting in at the main entrance!" 

"You, you," Dominic pointed at two of his more reliable guys as he ordered, "get your guns out and let's go take a look."

The three men, lead by the other, scurried through the darkened factory. As they reached the entrance Dominic was comforted to see his men standing guard as usual, though one was leaned casually up against the wall.

"Hey, man, what the hell," one of the shooters grabbed the guy by the shoulder, then yelped as his head rolled right off.

"Aaah!" the first guy screamed like a girl even as Dominic realized the other guard was dead too, leaning sightlessly against the wall.

"Who did this?" Dominic demanded, waving his gun around nervously.

A cheerful, childlike voice said, "We did, mister!"

Dominic turned to see a child hefting a bloody ax, which he used with shocking speed on one of his gunmen. The blade parted flesh with stupid erase, splattering him with blood as his man went down screaming. The boy finished him with a chop, splattering his fine clothes.

"What the hell?" Dominic scampered backwards even as a tall man emerged from the gloom, along with a little girl hefting a gun bigger than she was. He recognized the man and his mouth went dry as he whispered, "Dent?"

"Dominic, been awhile," Two Face grinned as Gretel charged into the factory, gun blazing as she cut men down like a scythe. Hansel followed, killing any wounded still living and slaughtering his share of goons.

"We can make a deal!" Dominic squealed.

"Not in this lifetime," Two Face said as he shot the man dead.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Rokuro Okajima, more commonly known as Rock, really wondered what sort of fucked up city this was. He and the Lagoon Company were here to assist a team from Hotel Moscow, though honestly he didn't know what they were doing here. They had docked the freighter the Moscow team was using as cover and transport, Revy and declared she was going out to check out the town and less than FIVE MINUTES LATER she was in a fight.

"What the hell?" Dutch blinked, the bald black man towering over them all as Revy leaped and dodged between boats, firing away with both pistols.

The woman in black was keeping up with her, shockingly enough, and even crazier wasn't getting hit. "That would be my line," Benny blinked, the blonde haired man looking on in awe.

The woman in black leaped right over Revy, yet the gunslinger reacted fast and avoided the follow up kick. With a growl she blazed away with her pistols, even as the other woman again bounded away with incredible agility.

"Wow," Rock said weakly. He really wanted to come up with something more elegant, but to be honest he couldn't come up with anything. These two are poetry in motion, even if the poem in question is about death and violence.

"Holy fuck," Dutch noted mildly.

"Uhm," Rock looked up at Dutch as he asked, "Do you think we should maybe go out there and try to break this up?"

Benny looked amused as he pointed out, "You remember what happened when you tried it with Revy and Roberta?"

"Good point," Rock admitted.

Revy dodged another attack, thought this time some kind of bat-blade throwing weapon was sticking in her arm. "Would you fucking DIE!" she roared, blasting away.

The black clad woman she was fighting actually grinned. "Tch, language!" she chided.

'Yup,' Rock decided, 'this city is insane.'

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Gordon, you called?" Batman said gruffly, landing on the rooftop above the Gotham Police Department. The black cape figure was very striking, his shadowy presence striking fear in the heart of many a evil doer.

"Batman," James Gordon nodded beside the huge spotlight, his pipe lit and curling smoke into the dark night. "You've heard about the attack as the old Smythe Factory?"

"A dozen gangsters killed, including Dominic Falcone, one of the last relatives of the old Falcone crime family," Batman said flatly. "Deaths by heavy weapons and blades, mostly."

James put his hands in his pockets, "I expected you'd be on top of it. But we still don't know who is behind it."

"I think we both know who it is," Batman said after a moment, "Harvey."

"You think he's still focused on vengeance on the Falcone family?" James asked a bit sadly. He had been a friend to Harvey Dent too, before he had been scared and became Two Face.

"I have... a confidential source that says Harvey brought in help from outside the city, twins called Hansel and Gretel," Batman said flatly. "I'll follow up on it, see if I can find any traces of the three of them."

"I'll run it by Interpol," James agreed. He hesitated, "Whoever these twins are, they destroyed gangsters in what my forensics teams think was only minutes. Watch yourself."

"You too," Batman said, before seeming to disappear into the night.

With a sigh James headed down the stairs, the older man concerned about the odd reports coming in this evening. There were reports of armed men and women, along with semi-military figures who were passing around a lot of money. His gut told him this was all connected, and if he was right it was going to be nasty.

Three figures were standing in front of officer Montoya's desk, and Renee looked rather annoyed. "All right," she asked them, "can you explain what you're doing here?"

The tall Asian woman with bouncy breasts and dressed in a slinky dress smiled winningly. "We tourists," she said cheerfully.

"Yes," the man with sunglasses agreed, "we're seeing the city."

Renee rubbed her temples. "That's a very nice Sig Mauser you're carrying for a tourist," she looked at the man, "and some very sharp knives, miss," she looked at the Asian lady, then hesitated as she looked at the Gothic Lolita garbed woman, "and what's up with the CHAINSAW you were carrying?"

Sawyer hesitated, looking at Rotton and Shenhua, then looked back at Renee. Using her vocoder she replied, "I like... carving."

"Ugh," Renee sighed.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Bat Lagoon

Two

Balalaika sighed to herself softly as the white blond sat at her office in Hotel Moscow. Just a few weeks ago the twins Hansel and Gretel had rampaged across the city, killing her men and nearly triggering a war between the city's gangs. She had been happy when the children killed the foolish Italians who hired them, but she was less happy to see them escape the city.

Her men had died at these devil children's hands. Cut down, shot... in one case, tortured to death, lingeringly. Balalaika was determined to see them pay for what they had done, pay with their lives at the very least. Her soldiers deserved at least that much, as did her own honor.

There was a knock on the door, then her Sargent Boris entered. "We have reports from Gotham," he told her, "the children have been sighted."

"They've killed again?" Balalaika asked, drawing on her thick cigar.

"Indeed," Boris nodded, "they attacked the Falcone mob in two strikes." He sounded just a touch admiring as he said, "They appear to have largely decapitated the mob. I suspect they'll follow up on the foot soldiers shortly."

"Hmm," Balalaika nodded, "are we having any luck finding Two Face or the children?"

"Not as much as I'd like," Boris admitted, "we couldn't send a very large team into Gotham, not with the situation in Roanapur the way it is. They are doing their best."

"We have contacts there, use them as well," Balalaika ordered. "The longer those children roam free, the higher the body count. And murder is bad for business."

"Understood," Boris nodded.

As he left, Balalaika sat back with a sigh. The Russian mob in Gotham was a shadow of what it was in other cites, mostly thanks to the Batman. Of course, things were not helped by their using monsters like the KG Beast and the Demon. Murder and war were fine, in their place, but in business... not so much.

Picking up her phone she made a call, listening as the international transmission went through. "Dutch?" she smiled, "I hope you reached Gotham safely?"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Dutch and the Lagoon Company were in a hotel not far from the docks. He was NOT leaving his boat in the hands of these crazy people unless he could reach it pretty damn fast. He and Benny were sharing one room, while Revy and Rock were right next door.

"Yeah," Dutch said into the phone, "other than being jumped by a Bat-chick, we're fine."

"You seem to have escaped unharmed," Balalaika noted, sounding amused.

"It was weird," Dutch admitted, "she jumped Revy, they fought for a bit... then she just bowed and swung away. No idea what's up with that chick." He cleared his throat, "Okay, we're here. What's the plan?"

"I want you ready either to extract my teams or the twins, whichever," Balalaika said frankly. "However do NOT directly engage either the Gotham police or this Bat-clan running around the city."

There was a beat of silence as Dutch processed that. "You do realize that's pretty much impossible, right?" he asked.

Balalaika chuckled softly, "Well, do your best." She cleared her throat, "There are several bounty hunters in ton, and if Revy wishes she can also try for the bounty on the twins. I would suggest you not get involved yourself, Dutch."

"You think I'm crazy?" Dutch chuckled. "Benny's beren trying some hacking, just to figure out what's going on in town, but he keeps getting shut down by surprisingly good security. You know anything about that?"

"Ah," Balalaika sighed, "my people are having the same problem. The only hint we can find is a user handle called Oracle..."

"Well, we'll do what we can," Dutch sighed.

"I trust you to do your best," Balalaika agreed before hanging up.

Dutch sat back as he tried to figure out what the hell to do. At the very least he was stuck riding herd over Revy, who would almost certainly get into trouble. An equal problem might be Rock, considering how much shit his good intentions could get him into.

"Damn this is crazy," Benny blurted out from where he was pecking away at the computer they had lugged up from the boat into the hotel room.

"What's wrong?" Dutch asked curiously.

"The city's computers are locked up tight," Benny said as he pushed away from the terminal tiredly. "Normally you can get in through a less secured area, like sewage or maintenance, but this system... it's insane. There are firewalls, traps, false systems even..."

"Not typical, I take it?" Dutch replied, not sure what the hell Benny was talking about.

"Not on your typical city budget," Benny shook his head tiredly.

There was a knock on the door, then Roc stuck his head in. "Revy wants to go out and get some air," he said tiredly.

Dutch's first instinct was to say no, but... if he refused, he was pretty certain Revy would go out anyway. And probably get all of them in trouble. Better to go out as a group and, possibly, contain the damage a bit.

"We'll all go," Dutch decided, "there was a bar we passed on the way here, we'll get a drink and scope the place out."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Gack!" Gil Maroni managed to grab at his gun before the axe cut into his back, nearly severing his spine and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Now Gil, is that any way to greet a old friend?" Two Face asked pleasantly as Hansel left the axe in the man's back and pulled another out of his coat. "Good job," he complimented the boy.

"Thank you," Hansel beamed.

"What the fuck..." Gil moaned, "What the hell did I ever do to you?"

Around them the young man's gang was being slaughtered. Gretel was mowing men down with her cannon as Hansel attacked with blades. The men on the docks were caught off guard, and worse filled with terror as the deadly twins and their frightening master attacked.

"It's not really you, Gil," Two face admitted conversationally as he knelt down by where the man sprawled on the ground, "but you're the last Maroni, you know? And there's no one else left to pay for what you're uncle Sal did."

"Oh fuck..." Gil whimpered, realizing what this was about.

His uncle Sal had been the son of one of the most powerful crime bosses, until he was caught for his crimes. Realizing he was doomed and would face the death penalty, Sal had his men smuggle in a container of acid, which he tried to murder the District Attorney Harvey Dent with. He failed, but the acid bath horribly scarred Dent and helped turn him into Two Face.

"Now, now, no bad language in front of the kids," Two Face chided him. He took out his coin, "Here's the choice: I put you down myself, or I let the twins have you. And trust me, my putting you down would be a mercy."

Gil looked at the eerily eager Hansel and could agree with Two Face. He had seen a few sadists in his gang days, but he had never seen that kind of blood thirsty eagerness as he saw on that child's face. The coin flipped upward, spinning and shining in the light, then Two Face caught it and slapped it onto his arm.

"Well, well," Two Face smiled coldly, He looked at Hansel, "Have fun."

"No." Gil started weakly as Hansel and Gretel eagerly moved in on him, "Please, NO!"

The screams and wet sounds carried on for awhile as Two Face considered what he was doing. Back in the day he had been a crusading DA, and some part of him still was. After everything that had happened to him, he knew the Gotham mobs had been the ones to destroy his regular life. Now as a scarred monster he was determined to let them reap what they had sowed, and destroy all the mobs and their leaders.

The sounds Gil was making finally ended, and Gretel trotted over, her gothic lolita dress splattered with blood and other fluids. "What did you want us to do with him, Mr. Dent?" Gretel asked respectfully, a bit of blood on her cute face.

Two Face tried not to be unnerved by the kids, but it was hard. They were blood thirsty and crazed in a way that made even the freaks in Gotham seem normal. He made a mental note to take them on a roadtrip to the bastards who had abused them and kill them bloodily.

"Leave the body where it is," Two Face said, "we want the other gangs to know this is coming for them too."

"Yes sir!" Hansel beamed, also blood splattered, the latest axe he was carrying having been broken cleaving through someone's skull. "Where to next?" he asked.

"We need to decide which of the old mob families to hit next," Two Face paused then got a good look at his two minions, "but first, we need to get you some fresh clothes."

"We are a bit of a mess," Gretel admitted, taking in her brains soaked sleeve.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Oh god," the CSI took one look at what was left of the man, staggered off and was violently ill.

Renee Montoya was keeping her meal down, but just barely. The officer was there with the major crimes unit, watching as the CSI unit bagged and tagged the remains of the various gangsters. Even the seasoned members of the team were having a hard time keeping their lunches down as they collected the small pieces.

"Well, that's a mess," Harvey Bullock noted as he took in what had been done to Gil. "You think Dent is sending a message?"

"Oh yeah," Renee agreed, "but what?"

The voice came out of the shadows. "It's a warning that he's coming for them," Batman said flatly, emerging from the darkness.

"Damn it Bats, don't DO that!" Harvey growled as Renee recovered from being startled.

"Warning to the mobs?" Renee asked once she regained her composure.

Batman's cape swirled around him as he said grimly, "The Mobs and everyone else who's crossed Harvey over the years." He looked at the two cops as he asked, "Gordon offered police protection to the mobsters?"

"Yeah, though they ain't taking us up on the offer," Harvey said dryly, "a few of them think it's a sting, or something."

Batman grunted softly, not disagreeing but not happy either. "I'll get my people mobilized," he said, "do what you can."

Before either officer could reply he was simply gone, disappearing into the darkness. "Damn," Renee muttered.

"You get used to it eventually," Harvey comforted her.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Bat Lagoon

Three

Revy felt oddly nervous as she walked the streets of Gotham, her twin pistols snug in their shoulder holsters. She was used to being in dangerous situations... hell, living in Roanapur was a adventure every day, but Gotham didn't feel the same. There was a different brand of crazy going on in this town.

"I REALLY don't like this," Benny muttered, echoing her thoughts.

"We're just going to the bar," Dutch said to them firmly, "and keep in mind it's not the Yellow Flag, Revy. None of your usual trouble, got it?"

"Hey, most of that shit isn't my fault," Revy protested.

Rock looked around him, once again wondering how a nice Japanese salaryman had found himself in this mess. Well, having his former employers try to murder him did have a lot to do with that... either way, here he was. It was stranger still being in America... he had read about it a lot, of course, but had never been here before.

"Hey Benny," Rock asked quietly, "is it true that Americans are all armed?"

Benny gave him a odd look, "No, not really. I think on average most Americans don't carry guns at all."

"Huh," Rock answered, faintly disappointed.

Revy snorted, "Rock, you read too much manga. Yeah, there's guns around, but your average jerk isn't always armed."

The bar they picked was nearby the docks, and was generally pretty seedy. There was beer spilled on the floor, dirty windows and the bartender clearly looked like he'd rather be somewhere else. The crowd was mostly dock workers or crooks, all of whom gazed suspiciously as the Lagoon Company went inside.

"Reminds me of home," Dutch drawled as they walked up to the bar.

The man reluctantly abandoned perusing a Playboy as he looked at them with disinterest. "What can I get you?" he asked.

"Rum," Revy decided, "and make it Crown Royal, not any of that generic crap."

"The same," Rock decided to be safe.

"Beer," Dutch decided to be a bit more advenbturous, letting the bartender fill him a mug of what they had on tap and passing him a fifty.

Benny looked at him with a amused look then ordered a name brand bottled beer. The four then retreated to a table, each carrying their drink. "You just really over payed him," Benny pointed out.

"He might be a bit more chatty, later," Dutch noted as he drank a bit of beer then stopped.

"Bad?" Revy asked as she had a bit of her rum.

"Horse piss," Dutch agreed as he had a bit more. "It does improve as the mouth goes numb, though," he admitted ruefully.

Rock sipped his own rum, noting it was not bad. "The crowd seems pretty tense," he noted quietly to the others.

"Can you blame them?" Benny asked. He shrugged, "They know our two maniacs are running around town. Not to mention that Two Face guy."

"I still don't know what the fuck is up with this Dent guy," Revy admitted. "I mean, he got splashed with acid? So fucking what!"

"Balalaika came back from worse, arguably," Rock noted a bit dubiously.

Several people in the bar inched away at that comment. A young man got up, and staggered towards their table, "What are you talkin' about that psycho for?"

"I'm a bounty hunter," Revy lied, "and there's a hell of a price on his head."

"You're nuts," the man shook his head, "I know people who... worked for Dent, back in the day. Flip of a coin and he'd decide if you liked or died."

"Do you know where he might be hiding?" Dutch had to ask.

"No, no," the man shook his head, "all I know is, it'll involve twos. Somehow."

"He's famous for his obsession for twos," Benny conceded thoughtfully as the man staggered back to his table. None of them noticed another guy scurry out, they were too busy talking.

"Think you can crank up your computer, find some possible hideouts?" Revy asked him eagerly.

"Maybe," Benny cautioned, "I'm limited to publically accessible sites. Still, I can at least come up with some suggestions."

Rock drank his rum thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought about it, but I guess that obsession with twos is why he recruited the twins in the first place," he noted.

Dutch watched the other customers, worruiedly noting the dock hands and crooks were steadily clearing out. Not a good sign. He had some more horrid beer, then put it down as he said, "Finish your drinks, folks. We gotta move."

Revy had also noticed the gradual clear out, and finished her glass of rum. "Drink up, boys," she ordered, even as the front door to the bar crashed open.

The man looked almost mousy, with round glasses and a bald head. But in his arms he cradled a ventriloquist dummy, and it had what looked like a tommy gun. "What's this I hear about you talkin' disrespectful about my man Dent?" the dummy demanded then opened fire.

"What the fuck?!" Revy yelled as she shoved Rock under cover and several other people in the bar opened up, some shooting at them, some at the Ventriloquist.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Nightwing swung between buildings, patrolling the city. He was here covering for Bruce while he investigated a lead on Hansel and Gretel, the twins Two Face brought in. Dick Grayson knew the city like the back of his hand, much like he did Bludhaven, and he swung expertly across the skyline.

There were bounty hunters in town, and a worrying number of armed, paramilitary types. He, Batgirl and Robin were all trying to keep tabs on them, while also monitoring Gotham's usual crime. It was a tough job for four people, even with all the police Gotham had.

Nightwing was swinging by the docks when he heard the gunfire, changing course to head towards the bar. He crashed through the front door in a blur of motion, swiftly asessing the situation. The Ventriloquist was spraying the room with bullets, a group was hiding behind tables, and several members of rival gangs were shooting at each other. And a gunwoman... danced?

The woman was poetry in motion as she leaped and dodged, her short shorts and t-shirt hugging her trim, athletic body. Tattoos marked one shoulder and her eyes had a dangerous, savage instensity as she dodged bullets and returned fire.

A man went down in a burst of red and Nightwing shook off his surprise. From his belt he drew several pellets and threw them to the ground, filling the room with blinding black smoke.

"What the..." Ventriloquist sputtered through the Scarface dummy.

Nightwing tacked him, slamming the older man backwards. He didn't have time to play around, knowing that the Ventriloquist could be very dangerous with his dummy, and swiftly laid him out with the next blow.

There was cursing coming from within the cloud of smoke, but thankfully no more gunfire. "Where's the crazy guy with the puppet?" a annoyed female demanded.

Moving nearly silently Nightwing tacked the other group of gunmen, swiftly using nerve strikes and other moves to drop them. That done, he advanced towards the other group even as the smoke began to clear.

"Hold it right there, pretty boy," the woman ordered, thankfully not pointing a gun at him. "We owe you one or the rescue?" she asked mildly as her companions formed up behind her.

Nightwing was a bit startled she had heard him coming, but hid it well. "Care to tell me what happened here?" he asked.

"We don't normally explain ourselves to guys running around in skin tight outfits and masks," the big black man noted wryly. "I'm Dutch, this is Revy, Benny and Rock."

"Nightwing," he shook the big man's hand. Quickly he assessed them, deciding Dutch and Revy were the physical threats. There was a... certain calculating look in Rock's eyes too, that he decided bore watching out for. "And I suppose it's just that kind of town," he joked.

Benny chuckled. He addressed Dutch, "If it helps any, my research says he's on the side of the angels, out here."

"We were mindoing our own business when the crazy bastard with the dummy burst in, shooting the place up," Revy said flatly.

Nightwing wasn't sure he bought that, but he would check out their story later. "You licensed to carry those guns?" he asked Revy.

She reached between her breasts, then drew ut a crumpled and sweaty piece of paper. "Here ya go," Revy smirked.

Nightwing gingerly took it, confirming she did indeed have a temporary license. "Thank you," he sighed, handing it back.

"No problem," Revy drawled as she tucked it back between her breasts.

Deciding it was time to go Nightwing turned to walk away, "I trust you'll stay for the police."

The four watched him swing away. "He joking?" Benny had to ask.

"I don't care, we're leaving," Dutch decided as they took off out the back.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Bat Lagoon

Four

Arkham Asylum was locked up tight, by certain standards of tight. The place had expensive security, in part paid for by Bruce Wayne, but that didn't seem to stop the maniacs from breaking in or out whenever they wanted. Worse, things were VERY very tense right then, with the craziness going on in the city.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA," the Joker laughed madly, reading a paper that had been left in the common room for the inmates. "I LOVE these kids!" he declared, waving the paper.

"What did the Twins do this time?" Poison Ivy wondered as she casually filed her nail sharper. She intended to stab a guard with it in the next few days, infect him with plant toxin and escape. You'd think the guards would only approach her wearing hazmat suits, but they never learned...

"Cracked a man's spine then put his head back on backwards," Joker pointed to the photo cheerfully, "I love how they retied his tie as a noose too."

"You are messed up," Croc sighed, the muscular, almost scaled man sitting in a chair. "You think Dent will hit here, eventually?"

Scarecrow laughed harshly, "Afraid of him, Croc?"

"No, Crane, I am NOT," Croc snarled.

Scarecrow flinched back a little. "NO, I don't think so," he said a bit more mildly, "he's focused on the Gotham gangs."

"And entertaining us all," Joker noted gleefully.

Poison Ivy ignored that. "So who do we know is outside that might be getting involved?" she wondered aloud.

"Ventriloquist is out," Croc noted.

"WAS out," Scarecrow corrected, "he was hauled in this morning. Shot up a bar in support of Dent's side. I think Catwoman's out there too."

"She'd stay out of it, I think," Poison Ivy noted as she held up her hand, admiring her nails, "no profit in it."

"There IS a hell of a reward for the Vampire Twins," Joker offered cheerfully. He stretched, "From the Russian mob, of all people."

"Huh. Not that lame KG Beast?" Croc asked.

"No, the REAL Russian mob. Hotel Moscow. KG Beast would be lucky if they even threw him a bone," Joker laughed.

The orderlies arrived with their meds, which the inmates took with varying degrees of enthusiasm. "I saw you palm them, Dr Crane," the orderly stared down Scarecrow calmly, "swallow them. Or I'll ask that your library privilages get cut."

"Yes, yes," Scarecrow sighed and took his too.

"I can't WAIT to see what happens tonight," Poison Ivy noted as she relaxed. She intentionally let her gaze linger on a male guard... he might be the patsy she needed.

"Hmm?" Croc looked at her in confusion.

Annoyed, Ivy looked back at him. "It's the twenty second. There's no WAY Two-face won't do something," Poison Ivy shrugged.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Meanwhile the group of bounty hunters who had arrived in Gotham looking for the twins were also not having a fun time. They didn't know the city, nor did they have many local contacts. So the three were out walking, to try to get a feel for what was going down.

Shenhua scowled as the tall, attractive Asian woman drew every eye to her bouncing breasts held in a slinky dress. "We no have luck at all," she complained.

Rotton looked amused as he strode along, his long coat flapping dramatically in the breeze. "At least Sawyer is happy," he noted.

Sawyer was indeed happy as she walked along in her new, black, lace trimmed dress. She had found a gothic lolita themed shop here in Gotham, MUCH better equipped than the ones she could usually shop online. After a flurry of trying on dresses and playing with accessories she had bought several hundred dollars of stuff and paid to have it shipped home.

Shenhua sighed, "We need info. Go shake down bar?"

"A entire bar?" Sawyer asked, amused.

"Know what I mean," Shenhua waved that off.

They were heading down a alley when a man staggered in front of them, holding a gun. "Money!" he croaked.

"And then Gotham gives up a gift," Shenhua laughed.

The robber looked DEEPLY confused by that reaction. "Gimmie money," he repeated, waving the gun pointedly.

"Who wants dibs?" Rotten asked the other politely.

"You and Sawyer have had the most fun so far," Shenhua pointed out to them reasonably. Heck, Rotten had even ended up in a brothel by accident!

"Go ahead then," Sawyer smiled.

"Uh..," the man took a step backwards, but it was too late.

With catlike speed Shenhua pulled her twin knives from concealed holsters in her dress, then charged him. Her blade struck sparks as she slapped the gun from the robber's hand, then advanced on him smoothly.

"Now, what was that about robbing us?" Shenhua asked coolly.

"Just leave me alone, I..." the man stammered, turning to flee.

Now, all Shenhua had planned was to play a bit. Slap him around a little, maybe a few cuts, then let him go. But before she could do anything else, a figure in red and green dropped from the sky, flicking out a extendable bo-staff and stopping her throw.

'Robin,' Shenhua recognized the young man in the form fitting armor from their admittedly spotty research.

"Back away slowly, please," Robin ordered as he took up a combat stance.

Shenhua completely ignored that as she closed with him, swinging a knife to see how he would react. He was damn fast, and sparks flashed as her knife slid along the staff. 'Titanium reinforced?' she wondered as she kicked, making him hop backwards a bit.

"Hold on," Robin started.

Shenhua tried to slip by his guard, then as he parried kicked a leg out from under him. Robin went down, and Shenhua had a chance for a damaging shot and went for it. The damn kid got the armored back of a gauntlet in front of the blade, but she still managed to graze his arm.

Robin rolled away, then kicked upwards, making Shenhua hop away. He kept the bo staff in one hand and slipped a sharpened battarang into the other He parried with his staff and struck out with the edged weapon, nearly tagging her.

Shenhua was having the time of her life as they danced across the alley. The boy was good, VERY good, and his fighting style was very familiar. She slashed with a knife, slicing into the bat-toy and sending pieces flying.

"So sorry I broke your toy," Shenhua purred.

Robin threw the one at her, making her duck, then unfolded another from his belt. "Don't worry," he growled, "I have more."

"Good," Shenhua attacked, twin knives flashing as she tried to break through his guard. It was a block using both the staff and a bat-thingy that made Shenhua realize why his fighting style was familiar... that was a Shiva move. Modified, but...

The sound of a gun going off made both of then jump backwards, then they glared at Rotten. "What...?" Robin started.

"Ahem," Rotten cleared his throat, "Mr... Robin, is it?"

"Just Robin is fine," the young man continued tersely.

"Robin, then," Rotten nodded, "as I understand it you and the other Bat-people represent the law here?"

"Somewhat. So?" Robin asked.

"My colleagues and I were simply minding our own business when that man attempted to rob us," Rotten gestured to the now out cold man.

"And you attacked him with knives," Robin noted dryly as he casually leaned on his staff.

"Self defense," Shenhua shrugged, making her breasts jiggle entertainingly.

Robin hesitated, but he clearly couldn't argue with their scenario. "Try not to kill anyone, even in self defense," he ordered, picking up the stunned robber.

"Will do," Rotten lied cheerfully as the boy swung off into the twilight.

"Too bad you stopped us," Shenhua pouted, "it was getting interesting."

"We can't afford you killing one of these heroes," Rotten noted.

"He might beat me," Shenhua noted. "Was trained by Shiva."

"Shiva," Sawyer paused, then the young woman continued warily, "The mysterious lady martial artist who's never been beaten? THAT Shiva?"

Shenhua didn't mention she trained her, too. Instead she just nodded, "Yes. Very respected, well known." She looked off where Robin had gone as she mused, "He have potential. Someday, if he train, could be great."

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Bat Lagoon

Five

In her base in the city clock tower by the police department, Oracle worked away. Barbara Gordon had once been the heroine Batgirl, until a bullet from the Joker had severed her spine. Now she used her computer skills to provide information to other heroes, as well as fighting crime with her agents the Birds of Prey.

Babs typed away, setting up another block as she puffed out a annoyed breath. The search for the murderous twins was taking up a lot of her time, but the rest was spent trying to stop a increasing number of hacking attempts.

There was a East Asian person or group trying to crack the police database. Oracle recognized the techniques as the work of Greenback Jane, a noted counterfitter and hacker. She was good, and worse she had a team backing her up. But Babs had the best computing power that the Wayne fortune could buy backing her up, so she was reasonably sure she could hold her off.

Peking Duck out of China was also launching net attacks. Babs suspected Hotel Moscow of hiring the Chinese hackers, since they were also targeting police servers. Unlike Jane they were using brute force attacks with multiple 'slave' computers bombarding the GCPD, but they were having no luck breaking in.

The most annoying problem was a hacker who was attacking locally. Babs didn't know who it was, and they were accessing the city internet from different locations around town. Unlike the other teams whomever it was, was subtle, careful, and skilled. Worse, the hacker was clearly aware of her ability to trace, and disconnected and moved on after every short attempt.

"Ah, well," Babs sighed as she drank some coffee, "I'll get you eventually."

The situation with Two Face was also becoming quite vexing. She had tracked him to several hideouts, but he was moving on too quickly to nail him. Worse, the 'Vampire Twins' were almost as random as Joker, again making it hard to track them.

'And it's the 22nd,' Babs thought grimly. 'What evil plot will Two Face launch today? With his mania for twos he HAS to act...'

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Okay kids, we're going out to dinner," Two Face said cheerfully.

"Huh?" Gretel blinked.

"What?" Hansel also blinked.

"Coin came up un-scarred, so tonight we'll take a break," Two Face said briskly. "Besides this will drive Batsy nuts, he'll run himself ragged trying to figure out what I'd do."

"I suppose," the girl noted doubtfully. Gretel shrugged, "You're the boss, sir."

"Where are we going?" Hansel asked.

"I was thinking Italian," Two Face admitted. "I think you'd like spagetti."

"Okay," Gretel agreed brightly. "Should we change?"

"And should we be armed?" Hansel added.

Two Face grinned, "Of course. The resturant I'm thinking of IS known to be frequented by certain gangsters..."

The two kids echoed the grin. "Oh yes," Gretel purred.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Lanna Moxon sighed as she met with Commissioner Gordon, the attractive brown haired woman sitting in the chair in his office across from his desk. Her lawyer was beside her, the stylishly dressed man carrying a briefcase.

"Of course my client does not concede she has commited any crimes, but she does believe her family connections might lead to her being a target," the lawyer said calmly.

"My sister, Mallory, was tied to our father's business," Lanna said dryly, "which got her and him killed. I'd like to avoid that."

Gordon grunted softly. In fact her was quite certain the young lady had in fact taken over her father's business, but proving it was difficult. Unlike her father she clearly understood using catspaws and agents, rather than getting her hands dirty.

"The best we can offer is some police protection," Gordon admitted, "we'd assign a officer to bodyguard you, basically, along with hopefully being able to respond if you are attacked."

"Hopefully?" the lawyer looked less than pleased.

Gordon gave him a look, "We are stretched thin as hell trying to head off a full scale gang war. Not to mention dealing with mercenaries and rampaging private security forces."

Lanna put a hand on her lawyer's arm. "We are asking them for help, remember?" she reminded him coolly.

"My apologies," the lawyer bowed his head slightly.

"So, can I meet the officer who will be assigned to me?" Lanna asked politely.

"I'll call her," Gordon nodded, picking up the phone and dialing. In a few moments a attractive young woman with shortish brown hair arrived, her expression calm if a bit remote.

'Oooh,' Lanna thought, hiding a smile.

"Renee Montoya, this is Lanna Moxton. You are now assigned for her personal protection duty," Gordon said with a smile.

"Ma'am," Renee nodded politely.

"Officer Montoya," Lanna smiled, "can I call you Renee?"

Renee smiled back politely as she answered, "You can call me officer, thank you."

'Oooh, feisty,' Lanna smiled.

Gordon sighed as he said, "If you'll excuse me, ladies, I have paperwork calling my name."

"Ms Moxton, shall we go?" Renee nodded, holding the door open.

"Call me Lanna," she purred as she followed Renee out.

"No," Renee answered calmly as the lawyer followed them out.

Gordon hid his own smile and got back to work. He really did have paperwork to get through.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Salvatore's was one of the exclusive places to eat in Gotham. You needed to know where the unmarked resturant even was, and they catered to a certain type of businessman. People who came with armed bodyguards, paid with cash and wanted privacy.

Tonight, that privacy was gone and the place was a abbator. Gunsmoke filled the air, bodies were stacked up like cordwood, and three customers were eating a meal.

"Al, the pasta is just as good as I remembered," Two Face addressed the owner warmly.

Al Salvatore, the manager, was stading beside the table. His staff had escaped mostly unharmed, and were cowering at a table nearby where his 'guests' could keep an eye on them. "Thank you," Al managed, the older man trying for dignity.

"It's yummy!" Gretel agreed.

Al did his best not to twitch. The two children had scared him more than Two Face. The boy had attacked the bodyguards, slashing with knives, even as the girl hefted a massive rifle and killed any he couldn't reach. As they did Two Face advanced, pistol in each hand as he shot the leaders with cool, deadly precision.

"Could I get a drink?" Hansel asked, slurping up noodles.

"Just soda," Two Face noted, "you're too young for wine."

"Yes sir," Al hurried off then returned with a coke for the boy.

"Calm down, Al," Two Face added conversationally as he returned, "I have no intention of harming you or your staff."

"They ARE witnesses," Gretel noted.

Two Face shrugged as Al paled. "Do we care?" he asked. "It's not like I'm trying to avoid the law, really," he noted.

Hansel drank some soda then ate, getting more red on his face to match the blood splattered clothes. "You're the boss, sir," the boy said respectfully.

"Besides, I don't care as long as we keep having fun," Gretel added.

Looking towards Al Two Face noted, "I would suggest you look into changing clients. Things are going to keep getting worse for them., and I wouldn't want you caught in the crossfire."

"Thank you," Al said a bit dryly.

They heard a alarm in the distance, and Two Face sighed. "Who called the cops?" he asked wearily. "We just came for a nice meal and someone spoiled it. Who?"

The staff gathered closer together, but the young men and women didn't say anything.

Two face sighed. "Scar face they die, clean we just leave," he said as he calmly flipped. The coin spun, gleaming then he caught it and slepped it don on his arm. "Scarred," he smiled coldly.

"Wait!" Al yelped, "I called the cops! It was me."

"I don't really care," Two Face shrugged. He looked at the kids, "Waste 'em."

"No," Al started when Two Face took one of his pistols and shot him in the face.

"Crying shame," Two Face noted as the screams and begging for mercy pretty rapidly trailed off, "place made the best damn pizza in town, too."

To be continued...


End file.
